


Sleepy Boyfriends and Lovesick Fools

by Lunatical



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff and Humor, How Do I Tag, Human Disaster Tony Stark, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Steve is a good boyfriend, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-17 16:52:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13081155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunatical/pseuds/Lunatical
Summary: For the prompt: Tony is always falling asleep in weird places; Steve loves carrying him to bed.





	Sleepy Boyfriends and Lovesick Fools

**Author's Note:**

  * For [palindrome](https://archiveofourown.org/users/palindrome/gifts).



At first, it was fairly normal.

Tony was a busy man, and between being a superhero, leading a multi-billion company and designing new gear for his teammates it wasn’t unusual for him to overwork himself until his body couldn’t keep up and he fell asleep on the spot.

Steve was aware of the “problem”, and although he wasn’t happy with it, he couldn’t do anything to change the situation: since they had gotten together, Tony had tried to spend less time in the workshop and more with Steve, doing his best to at least join him in their bed once he was done working. But sometimes his duties added up until he had no choice but holing himself up in the ‘shop on an engineering binge, or leaving for days on end to attend business meetings across the globe.

Steve knew that, and he also knew how hard Tony was trying to be a good boyfriend, so he made sure to support him as best as he could, only asking JARVIS to tell him whenever Tony fell asleep so that Steve could go collect his genius boyfriend and carry him to bed.

And as soon as he started doing it, he found himself loving it.

Steve would go down to the workshop, finding Tony either lying on the couch or bent uncomfortably over the workbench, and walked over to him. Tony always seemed to recognize Steve when he picked him up and happily snuggled closer to his boyfriend with a neediness he carefully never showed when he was awake. Being granted that much trust made Steve’s heart swell with pride and love, and he cherished every second of it.

And, if he found himself smiling like a fool whenever Tony buried his face into his neck, no one was there to judge him.

Tony would usually stay asleep for ten to thirteen hours straight, which meant that Steve had all the time in the world to cuddle him as he slept. And, if Steve didn’t feel like joining him in the land of dreams, he could spend hours and hours simply looking at his boyfriend resting peacefully by his side. His hands often itched with the need for a pencil, wishing to capture those rare moments of peace in their hectic lives. Sometimes he gave into temptation and spent hours drawing Tony in silence: his hands, his hair, his profile in the light, his face softly lit by the arc reactor, pages and pages filled with nothing but Tony.

Steve had shown him his sketchbooks once, because keeping them hidden felt too much like a violation Tony’s trust. Tony had looked at every single drawing, blushing more and more as each page went by, and once he was done he proceeded to kiss Steve stupid before dropping to his knees and showing him how much he _really_ liked his art.

So yeah, Steve loved watching Tony sleep, and he loved carrying him to bed, for no reason other than he enjoyed taking care of him.

And then, of course, things had to get weird.

***

The mission had been exhausting.

Clint and Natasha were on some mysterious assignment requested by Fury himself, Bruce had gone to a conference on clean energy in Japan, and had taken the occasion to go on a much needed vacation for the rest of the week, and even Thor was in Asgard to fulfill his regal duties.

Therefore, Steve and Tony had the tower for themselves for the first time in ages, and they had planned on taking the occasion to spend some time together away from the craziness of their lives… but then Steve had been called for a mission against Hydra, and Tony had to deal with an emergency at Stark industries, and now, three days later, they still hadn’t had time to even _talk_.

Steve slumped against the wall of the elevator, feeling as though every muscle in his body was aching.

The mission was supposed to be simple: get in, grab the data, get out. But once inside, Steve had found himself alone and outnumbered, and, for once, Hydra had put up a good fight.

So now he was exhausted, and he just wanted to eat something, kiss his boyfriend, and then sleep for the next 24 hours.

But knowing Tony, and judging by how much Pepper had been swearing when she had called him, he had probably spent the last three days trying to contain whatever mess his company had been in.

If Tony was still awake, Steve was going to drag him to bed with him.

“Captain,” JARVIS interrupted his thoughts, “as per your request, I have to inform you that Sir has fallen asleep, after 81 hours and 37 minutes. With perfect timing for you to join him, might I add.”

Steve smiled at the ceiling. “Thanks, JARVIS. Where is he?”

“Sir is currently on the common floor, Captain. I have taken the liberty to reroute the elevator.”

Steve frowned. Why would Tony be in the common room? He was alone in the tower.

The elevator doors opened before Steve could ask anything, so he walked out and opened his mouth just as JARVIS chimed in. “In the kitchen, Captain.”

Even more confused, Steve stepped into the kitchen… and was met with the sight of Tony, fast asleep, lying face down on the table with an arm dangling down the side and a cup of coffee in his hand, the liquid slowly dripping on the floor.

Steve froze in the doorway, at a loss for words.

“JARVIS?” he asked, hoping to get an explanation, or _anything_ to clarify why Tony was just… laying there.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Why is he…” he trailed off, gesturing vaguely at Tony.

“Ah,” the AI said, suddenly understanding, “it is the first time Sir has done this since your relationship has started. I apologize for not realizing sooner, as I have been used to it my entire life.”

“Does he… does he do this a lot?” Steve asked, still baffled.

“Not quite as much as he used to, but yes, it is a habit of his.”

“Ok,” Steve sighed, “I have dealt with weirder things. This is fine.”

He walked over to the table, staring at Tony for a beat before bending down to pick up the cup of coffee and placing it on the countertop. He turned around to look at Tony, gently pushing him around until he was lying on his back. Tony flopped to the side like a puppet, snoring softly.

“What the hell,” Steve whispered to himself, but still picked up his boyfriend. His muscles protested a bit, lamenting the weight, but then Tony subconsciously shifted closer, fisting his hands in Steve’s uniform, and Steve melted on the spot, blushing and smiling down at his boyfriend.

He was thankful that no one was there to judge his ridiculous lovesick expression as he carried Tony to their room.

***

The next time it happened, Steve was chilling out with Natasha in the common room, talking quietly and gossiping a bit, when JARVIS interrupted them.

“Captain, I must inform you that Sir has fallen asleep in his lab after being awake for 52 hours and 11 minutes. It would be better for you to reach him as soon as possible, since his position is quite… precarious.”

Steve and Natasha shared a look as they stood up and headed to the elevator, curious to see what JARVIS meant.

Whatever they had been expecting, it definitely wasn’t to find Tony sleeping while draped over Dum-E. The poor bot was beeping anxiously, a fast series of sounds that Steve could only translate as a human screaming, and his claw was shaking with the effort of not letting his creator faceplant into the floor.

Steve himself wasn’t feeling too well, because Tony looked _fucking dead, how was he even sleeping in that position, what the fu-_

(Natasha took a picture of the scene, with Steve clutching his chest in the background. Steve looked somewhere between “I’m having a heart attack right now, currently, at this moment” and “I have just seen the most precious thing my eyes have ever laid upon.” Tony didn’t say anything when they showed him the picture, smirking and shrugging his way through the conversation. The next day, the photo was framed on his workbench.)

***

From that moment on, things just got weirder.

It seemed that the more Tony began to trust them, the more he started to fall asleep in improbable places. And it stopped being a post-working-binge thing, either: Steve would come out of the gym to find Tony napping upside down on the couch. Clint found him sleeping on the floor on two separate occasions, and Steve had to face his silent judgement when he came to collect his boyfriend and grinned like a fool at the sight. Thor made the mistake of leaving Mjolnir on the table once, and Steve had to pry Tony from the hammer after he fell asleep cuddling it. Bruce mostly didn’t mind when Tony fell asleep in weird places, because his teammates’ awful relationship with sleep was really, _really_ bad for his peace of mind and he had once witnessed Tony and Clint drink 12 cups worth of coffee in a single breath, so he didn’t complain when Tony fell asleep on the kitchen counter as long as he was getting some sleep.

Natasha, of course, had to be the most dramatic of them all. She had found Tony sleeping on the piano in her ballet room, and she had proceeded to pick him up and carry him all the way to his and Steve’s bedroom before unceremoniously dropping him on his sleeping boyfriend. Steve had startled so bad he almost fell off the bed, and she had hissed at him before stomping off.

Tony had simply curled up on Steve’s side and snored.

***

It all came to an end one night.

They were in bed, Steve leaning on the headboard with Tony in his lap, sleepily making out. After a while, Tony pulled back, letting them both catch their breath, and looked down at Steve. “Why do you like carrying me around so much?”

The question, coming seemingly out of nowhere, caught Steve off guard. “Why do you ask?” he replied, carefully keeping his tone from sounding accusatory.

“I just-” Tony hesitated, biting his lips as he avoided Steve’s gaze. “I’ve seen the recordings, and you look so happy whenever I’m asleep and you carry me to bed. Why?”

“Because I love you,” Steve said easily, with no hesitation, “and I like to be able to take care of you. I like that you trust me enough to be vulnerable with me, and I like to be able to protect you.”

Tony’s eyes snapped up to Steve’s face. he was speechless for a long second, eyes bright as he searched for something in Steve’s expression.

“Damn,” he finally choked out, smiling happily, “since when are you this suave?”

Steve grinned, choosing to lean up for another kiss instead of answering. When they parted again, he asked, “And why do you fall asleep in so many weird places?”

Tony pursed his lips. “I’ve never been able to sleep well alone, so growing up I used to nap with people around to make noise: it was the kitchen growing up, with Ana and Jarvis cooking and chatting, and then at MIT it was either Rhodey’s room or the labs. It got worse after Afghanistan,” Tony continued, unconsciously rubbing at the arc reactor, and Steve tightened his arms around him in silent support. “In the cave there was never a second of silence, so I got used to the noise. When I came back, the stillness put me on edge. So I started sleeping in the lab, where the bots could keep me company. But then you guys came along, and then we started to sleep together, so I didn’t need the noise anymore. But sometimes it just… happens.”

Tony was blushing harder than Steve had ever seen him, and frankly it was both adorable and heartbreaking.

“Hey,” he said, nudging Tony's face up to meet his gaze, “no one minds you sleeping around the tower. Especially not me.”

Tony snorted at that. “Yeah, I figured, what with all the video proof of you carrying me around like a princess.”

“Hm,” Steve hummed, fighting back a smile, “I wouldn’t call you a princess. A kitten, maybe.”

“A kitten,” Tony repeated, unimpressed.

“Yup. You’re small, cute, you nap everywhere…”

Tony grinned, looking predatory. “Oh, I’ll show you who’s small and cute, Rogers.”

“is that a challenge?”

Tony laughed as they tumbled on the bed.

***

***

The next morning, in the common kitchen, a shirtless Steve stumbled into the room.

“What the fuck happened to your back, Cap?”

Steve blinked, looking at Clint in confusion, before turning to check his reflection on the fridge.

 _Huh_. Those were some nice scratches.

He turned around and smiled at Clint. “A cat got me,” he said.

Tony choked on his coffee.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope my lovely giftee likes it :)
> 
> Un-beta'd, so if you find any mistakes please let me know!
> 
> You can also find me on tumblr [here](http://lunaticalwriter.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated


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